Automatic make-up tongs



aX gl, 1929. J. M. ELLIOTT 1,713,694

AUTOMATIC MAKEUP TONGS I Filed Aug. 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l lllilll L gin-neuter cZ/lZZlioZZ y 1, 1929. J. M. ELLIOTT AUTOMATIC MAKE-UP TONGS Filed Aug. 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet gww'ntoc Jul 722i oz? Patented May 21, 1929.

UNITED STATES JAMES M. ELLIOTT, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

AUTOMATIC MAKEJJP TONGS.

Application filed August 14, 1928.

This invention relates to tongs used in making up lengths of pipe with the aid of a make and break rotary drilling machine, such as are used in the drilling of oil, gas or water Wells. In making up pipe and tool joints on pipe, that is, adding a pipe section to pipe sections already inserted in the well, it is usual to use the outer table of the rotary drilling machine and connect the tongs,

gripping the pipe to be screwed into place, with this outer table by means of a post mounted upon the outer table.

The tongs is provided with a tong jaw that goes around the pipe or tool joint to be made up and a latch to hold the jaws closed while the pipe or tool joint is being screwed home The general object of the present invention is to provide means for automatically releasing the tongs when the pipe or tool joint has been screwed up sufiiciently tight, thus avoiding all danger of the tongs breaking under the strain caused after the pipe has been screwed home, and also by providing a tongs which will automatically release, save time,

and eliminate the necessity of the workman watching to see that the pipe has been screwed home, and then manually releasing the tongs.

A further object is to so construct the tongs that the tongs will automatically release when the pipe or tool joint has been screwed home and thus save the cost of repairing broken chain and other parts which are very liable to break under such strain and to provide a tongs which will be very satisfactory, strong, durable and which will eliminate the troubles now prevalent throughthe oil industry due to the type of tongs now in use.

My invention is illustratai in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is an elevation of a tongs con structed in accordance wit-h my invention, the latch side of the tongs being toward the spectator.

Figure 2 is a top view of the tongs shown in Fig. 1, the handle and a part of the aw being in section;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a portion of a make and break rotary well drilling machine showing the tongs in use: and

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 3.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated fragmentarily a portion of a make and break rotary well, drilling machine which. includes the outer rotary table A, rotated by means of Serial No. 299,588.

the driving bevel gear wheel B. The pipe C passes down centrally through the inner table D.

Mounted upon the table A is the upstanding post 10 which is approximately fortyfour inches in height and tapered from 3- inches at the bottom to 2% inches at the top, the top oi? the post being square as at 11. Projecting from the post is a stop 12 having an angularly bent downwardly extending terminal end 13 for apurpose to be later stated.

The tongs comprise a hollow handle 14 which. may be about inches in diameter and 17 inches long, more or less depending on the size of the rotary used. The outer end of the handle is formed with a square aperture 15 designed to fit over the portion 11 of the post. Extending through a web 16 forming one wall of this aperture 15, is a screw 17 having a head 18 fitting within the web 16 and having a nick for a screw driver or other tool which may be inserted through an aperture 19 formed in the end of the handle. The screw 17 extends into a bore 20 which terminates at the inner end of the handle in a concave or inwardly tapered seat 21 and carried upon the screw 17 is a nut 22. Engaged with this nut is one end of a contractile spring 23, and it will be obvious that by rotating the screw 17 that the spring may be placed under greater or less tension.

The jaw proper is formed in four sections designated respectively 24, 25, 26 and 27. The section 24 at its inner end is formed with a tapering portion 28 which seats within the tapering or concaved seat 21. To the end of this tapering portion 28 is attached one or more links 29 of a chain forming a shackle with which the extremity of the spring 23 engages, this spring thus acting to draw the jaw section 24: to the seat 21. The jaw sections 25, 26 and 27 are hinged to each other by pintles 30, each section being bifurcated to receive the hinge head or car of the next adjacent section in an obvious manner. The several sections 25., 26 and 27 are curved or arcuate so that when closed they will fit around the pipe C as shown in Fig. 2 and each section is provided with a square tool steel die 31 with one edge protruding so as to grip against the pipe 0. The sections, of course, will vary in size and curvature according to the size of pipe for which they are intended. Thus, if they are made to fit twot I'OCOSS inch pipe they will necessarily be smaller than if they are made to fit sixinch pipe.

The last jaw 27, is formed in its face with 32 and the side face of the jaw 2d opposite its point of connection with the j aw section 25 is also recessed at Operating with in this recess and mounted upon a pintle 34 is a latch 35 having an angularly disposed nose engagcable in the recess 32. This latch 35 is provided with a tail 36 which extends rearward along the recess in the handle.

The recess 33 is extended along the handle as at 37 and mounted upon the handle and projecting over this recess is a projecting latch tripping member 38 shown as attached to the handle by screws 39. This tripping member projects beyond the rear end of the recess 37 and projects over the tail 36. A spring 410 bears against this tail 36 and therefore resiliently urges the latch 35 into on gagcment with the jaw 27. By releasing the latch the aws 25, 26 and 27 may be opened out to receive a pipe and then closed and the latch engaged. The spring is relatively small and yieldingly resists any change in the alinement of the jaw section 2st with the longitudinal axis of the handle, and this spring is strong enough to permit these tongs or wrench to be used in screwing one section oi the pipe upon another, but when the sections have been screwed home the strain is too great to be resisted by the spring and the spring will permit the handle to be shiited to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, thus opening the latch. The use of this de-- vice will be obvious from Figs. 3 and i. The outer end of the handle is mounted upon the post 10 as shown and the jaw sections engaged with the pipe as described. The table A is then rotated which causes the post to rotate the pipe tongs or wrench in a direction to screw home the pipe gripped thereby, but as soon as the pipe has been fully screwed home the handle will yield as before stated, and in so yielding the tripping member 38 will bear against the tail end of the latch, releasing the latch and the tong jaws will swing open.

The continued rotation of the table A will cause the tongs to swing around clear of the pipe but the safety guard or stop 12 will permit the tongs to swing around only to the edge of the rotatable table and no further. This 'atety guard or stop 12 is also oi advantage in that it anything should go wrong with the hold that the tongs have on the pipe and the jaws should come loose, the tongs cannot swing further than the outer edge of the rotary, thus eliminating the danger that ordinarily exists to workmen working near the rotary while the pipe is being made up and eliminating the danger o'l flying chain and other parts possibly caused by the breaking of the tongs.

It will be seen that in this construction the tongs will automatically release when the pipe or tool joint has been screwed home or when any strain liable to break the tongs is applied thereto and that when the tongs swing away from the pipe under the action of the rotary they can only swing a certain distance, and thus there will be no danger to nearby workmen. The construction simple, strong and etl'ective tor the work intended and obviously it may be varied in detail from that shown in the drawings without departing from the spirit oi the invention as defined in the appended claims.

lVhat I claim is- 1. A make-up pipe tongs for use with rotary well drilling rigs including a handle having a seat at one end, a jaw formed of a plurality of hinged sections, one of said sections having a portion loosely disposed within said seat, resilient means urging the last named jaw section and the handle into alinement with each other and yieldingly resisting the disalinement of the jaw section and the handle, a latch mounted upon the handle and engageing the last jaw section of the series, and means on the'handle for releasing the latch when the handle has been turned in one direction into angular relation with the axis of the jaw section.

2. A make-up pipe tongs for use with rotary well drilling rigs including a handle having a seat at one end, a jaw formed of a plurality of hinged sections, one of said sections having a portion loosely disposed within said seat, resilient means urging the last named jaw section and the handle into alinement with each other and yieldingly resisting the disalinement of the jaw section and the handle, a latch mounted upon the handle and engaging the last jaw section of the series, means on the handle for releasing thelatch when the handle has been turned in one direction into angular relation with the axis of the jaw section, and including a tripping member mounted upon the handle and engageable with the latch when the handle is angled as stated.

3. A make-up pipe tongs for rotary well drilling rigs comprising a hollow handle formed at one end with an inwardly tapering seat, a aw formed of a series of jaw sections hinged to each other, one of the end jaw sections being formed to fit within the tapering seat and the terminal jaw section having a recess, a contractile spring disposed within the handle and operatively engaged at one end with the handle and at the other end with the adjacent jaw section, and resisting movement of the jaw section and the handle out of alinement with each other, a latch pivotally mounted on the last named jaw section adapted to engage with the recess in the terminal jaw section, the latch having a tail, a spring urging the latch into latc-hing'engagement and a tripping member mounted upon the handle and extending over the tail and releasing the latch when the handle is turned in one direction out of alinement with the adjacent jaw section.

4. A make-up pipe tongs for rotary well drilling rigs comprising a hollow handle formed at one end with an inwardly tapering seat, a jaw formed of a series of jaw sections hinged to each other, one of the end aw sections being formed to fit within the tapering seat and the terminal jaw section having a recess, a contractile spring disposed within the handle and operatively engaged at one end with the handle and at the other end with the adjacent jaw section, and resisting movement of the jaw section and the handle out of alinement with each other, a latch pivetally mounted on the last named jaw section adapted to engage with the recess in the terminal jaw section, the latch having a tail, a spring urging the latch into latching engagement, and a tripping member mounted. upon the handle and extending over the tail and releasing the latch when the handle is turned in one direction out of alinement with the adjacent jaw section, and means engaged with the handle and spring whereby the tension of the spring may be varied.

5. A make-up pipe tongs for rotary well drilling rigs comprising a hollow handle formed at one end with an inwardly tapering seat, a jaw formed of a series of jaw sections hinged to each other, one of the end aw sections being formed to fit within the tapering seat and the terminal jaw section having a recess, a contractile spring disposed within the handle and operatively engaged at one end with the handle and at the other end with the adjacent jaw section, and resisting movement of the jaw section and the handle out of alinement with each other, a latch pivotally mounted on the last named jaw section, the latch having a tail, a spring urging the latch into engagement, and a tripping member mounted upon the handle and extending over the tail and releasing the latch when the handle is turned in one direction out of alinement with the adjacent jaw section, means engaged with the handle and spring whereby the tension of the spring may be varied, and including a nut with which the spring is engaged and a screw extending longitudinally through the handle and engaging said nut.

6. A make-up pipe tongs for use with rotary well drilling rigs including a handle and a jaw, the jaw having a portion having loosely seated engagement with the handle resilient means urging the jaw into a position where that portion thereof engaging the handle will be alined with the handle and yield ingly resisting movement of the jaw with relation to the handle, a latch mounted upon the handle and engaging the jaw, and means on the handle for automatically releasing the latch when the handle has been turned in one direction into angular relation with the axis of the jaw section.

In testimony whereof I hereunto alfix my signature.

JAMES M. ELLIOTT. 

